Kevin Garnett not making much of an impact for Nets

Kevin Garnett and teammates Alan Anderson, left, and Marcus Thornton sit on the bench late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 against the Miami Heat in the second round of the NBA playoffs at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on May 8, 2014. Photo Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams, Jr.

MIAMI - Kevin Garnett was frustrated after missing a 5-footer, beating himself up as he ran downcourt to play defense.

Former Celtics teammate Ray Allen swished a three-pointer on the next possession to give the Heat an 85-77 lead in Miami's 92-84 Game 2 victory, making Garnett's brick that much more of a momentum-killer.

Latest Nets stories

His offensive struggles continued Thursday night, as he scored only four points (shooting 2-for-8) after going scoreless in a playoff game for the first time in his career in Game 1.

"I'm not happy with my play right now," said Garnett, who shot 1-for-6 from inside the paint but did have 12 rebounds. "I'm trying to get in a flow and a rhythm. Try to bring something. It's just frustrating. But I'll grind through it."

Asked how he can improve his game, he said: "Continue to work. Continue to find ways to be aggressive offensively. Continue to look for opportunities. Rebound the ball, box out as much as I can. And continue to talk and inspire."A passive Garnett does little to help the Nets.

Garnett, who has played in 140 career postseason games, was averaging playoff career lows in points (7.4), rebounds (5.3) and minutes (19.5) entering Game 2.

"Listen, coming here . . . I knew my scoring was going to be subjective," he said. "I knew I was giving up things coming here. I understand that. I'm not going to be a distraction or complaining about things that I kind of anticipated. Whatever [Kidd] needs to be on this team, I've tried to be and will continue to try to be.

"I'm not going to come off and be a distraction at this point. I understand my job and go out there and do it to the best of my ability. If I have a chance to be aggressive, I'll take those chances. If not, do what I can, do the things that I know I can."

In the series opener, the Nets had five different players guarding LeBron James at various times. "I figured that they would throw a lot of bodies at me in particular," said James, who had 22 points in Game 2. "In one-on-one matchups, they threw six to seven guys on me at one point in the game. They started to kind of bring the double-team towards the end. That shouldn't deter us from doing what we want to do." Net-cetera

The Heat coaching staff's pregame choice of footage in the locker room last nightThursday night? That would be Game 5 of Miami's 1999 first-round series with the Knicks, which was won on Allan Houston's buzzer-beater.

Subscribe to Newsday’s sports newsletter

Receive stories, photos and videos about your favorite New York teams plus national sports news and events.